Bitcoin rose to $64,955.5 on Friday, putting the cryptocurrency on pace for a 3.2% weekly gain after a surprise jobs contraction pushed traders to scale back Federal Reserve rate-hike bets. Bitcoin miner MARA swung to a quarterly loss far below analysts' expected profit, while altcoins traded a mixed week, with Cardano surging more than 18%.
Bitcoin rose 0.8% to $64,955.5 on Friday. The move followed a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report that pushed traders to pare bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike. Gains stayed capped, however, as optimism faded over an Iranian deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with no agreement reached despite U.S. assertions that one was close.
The advance put Bitcoin on pace for a 3.2% weekly gain, part of a broader rally in risk sentiment that has pushed Wall Street to record levels. Still, the cryptocurrency remained pinned within a $62,000 to $65,000 trading range.
Jobs data cools rate-hike bets
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls fell by 23k in July, compared with a consensus estimate for a rise of 85k. The decline stemmed largely from a nearly 50k drop in local government education jobs. The drop marked the first monthly loss in jobs since February, and the government also revised May and June payrolls down by a combined 103k. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1% in July from 4.2% in June.
Fed policymakers face a dilemma. Elevated inflation risks, driven by oil-price volatility tied to the Middle East conflict, argue for higher rates, but a resilient labor market leaves little room for cuts.
According to Michael Feroli, JPMorgan's chief U.S. economist: "it still looks like a 2% growth economy". He added that the next two months of inflation reports would likely prove more decisive for policy. As a result, the odds of a quarter-point rate hike in September slipped to nearly 42%, down from 55% a day earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Miners, altcoins diverge
Bitcoin miner MARA underscored the toll of the recent price rout. The company posted a Q2 loss per share of $1.60 against expectations for a $0.35 profit. Revenue of $174.9 million also missed estimates, marking a third consecutive quarter of losses. MARA shares slid more than 5% on Thursday, even as the company reiterated plans to pivot toward AI computing services.
Most altcoins tracked Bitcoin's advance for the week. Ether climbed 0.4% and gained 2.6% over the week. XRP fell 1% and dropped nearly 4% for the week. Solana rose more than 1% for the session and the week. Cardano surged more than 18% for the week. The token slipped 1.6% on the day.
Source: Investing.com
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